THE CRANKY OLD MAN
Random thoughts and stuff from a cranky old man. Humor (maybe)and satire, mostly stuff from a confused head.
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Saturday, March 8, 2014

A HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED CONSERVATIVE BLACK WOMAN…oh the humanity!

A HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED CONSERVATIVE
BLACK WOMAN…oh the humanity!

A cranky opinion for

CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY

The following is the opinion of a
cranky old man with very little expertise on the subject opined.Opposing opinions are welcome.They are wrong, but welcome, and please, no
name calling and that means you, you big stupid-head.

I was not
going to submit a Cranky Saturday Opinion post this week, but my own State
University, Rutgers, changed all that.

Rutgers has
invited Condoleezza Rice to be this year’s commencement speaker. Many Rutger's professors and students are quite
upset at this choice. They are trying to
have the invite withdrawn.

Who can
blame them?

Condoleezza
Rice was a professor of political science at Stanford University, one of the
most prestigious colleges in the US.She
served on the National Security Council as advisor to President George H.W.
Bush during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and German reunification.She was the National Security Advisor for
George W. Bush, and later served as Secretary of State.

Condoleezza Rice is an extraordinary person on many
levels.As a teen she was an
accomplished figure skater.She is a
concert pianist of near professional expertise.Her degrees and accolades from several of
our most prestigious schools are too numerous to list.

Why are Rutger’s professors and students angry at Ms.
Rice’s becoming the commencement speaker?

They say that while serving under George W. Bush she
allowed torture of Al Quida Terrorists (waterboarding), and she played a major
part in advocating and supporting the War in Iraq.These professors and students claim the War
in Iraq “has been arguably the worst and most destructive
decision in the history of U.S. foreign policy.”Those who would argue that probably have
never been taught about the War in Vietnam or they would never make that
argument.Of course the Vietnam War was
started by a Democrat Administration, escalated by a Democrat Administration
and ended by a Republican Administration so a Liberal university just might not
remember that one.

These professors and students also forget the climate of
the Country at the time these decisions were made.Let me remind them. After 9-11 most of the country was pretty
pissed off.Waterboarding a few people
that had blown up our city and murdered our citizens didn’t really upset too
many people at the time, especially if the waterboarding might prevent future
attacks.Probably we shouldn’t have
waterboarded these terrorists.We
probably shouldn’t have even bothered to capture these terrorists.We probably should have simply blown them
away as President Obama had Osama Bin Ladin blasted several times in the head.

Given the choice I would prefer waterboarding to having
my brains blown out…but that’s just me.

Anyway.

I don’t want to get into an argument over the Iraq War,
or waterboarding.Both were probably a
mistake.It takes time for history to
make that final determination.What
disturbs me is that a person of the stature of Condoleezza Rice, a person with
qualifications beyond reproach, can be marginalized and demonized because some
professors and students disagree with policies that took place in the
administration she supported.

I understand that some people hate George W. Bush so
much that they would like his eight years as President to be swept under the
rug.I know people believe he was a
complete idiot, and his administration is to blame for anything bad that has
happened in this country for the last fourteen years.Maybe George W. Bush is an idiot, I disagree but
I am tired of arguing against that point of view, however, for sure,
Condoleezza Rice is no idiot.

Condoleezza Rice
is nota politician.She has shunned any offers to run for
political office.Many want her to run
for President and she continually declines.Whatever decisions Condoleezza Rice made or supported while in the Bush
administration she made because she thought these decisions would best support
and protect her country.

Rutgers University wants to stop Condoleezza Rice from
speaking because she is the worst possible threat to their Liberal ideals.She is a conservative black woman without
political aspirations.She is beholden
to no one, so she cannot be tagged with the derogative Uncle Tom label.Condoleezza Rice cannot be tagged as racist,
she is black.She cannot be tagged as
misogynist, she is a woman.She cannot
be discarded as an idiot or a fool; she is clearly one of our countries
brightest citizens.

The only explanation for her conservative positions is
that she believes they are good policies.She is an immensely intelligent black woman who argues sincerely for
conservative positions and policies.If
the liberals in academia cannot dismiss her contrarian positions because of
race, gender or ignorance, then they must shut her down.They do not want her to have a forum.

Condoleezza Rice is not a terrorist.She is not a George W. Bush toady.She is not a war criminal.She has something to say.What she has to say may not be in lock-step
with liberal beliefs.What she has to
say might make young people think, might let young people consider another
point of view.I always thought that is
what is supposed to happen in institutions of higher learning.

Condoleezza Rice is a highly intelligent black
woman.She is a conservative.

What are some Rutger’s professors and students afraid
of?

Let her speak!

The preceding has been the opinion of a cranky old man, and not
necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.

17 comments:

I agree they should be glad to have her, and I'm sure her speech would really be worth hearing. I was against the Iraq war and I didn't like George Bush, and I lean left, but I hate that knee-jerk thing of dismissing anything someone has to say just because they're on the other side of politics from you. Our world is getting too polarized. Never shut yourself off from wisdom, that's just hurting yourself.

I could hardly agree with you more, although, as I am an Englishman who lives in England, who is invited to speak at which American university has nothing whatever to do with me but I just thought I should put in my two-pennyworth.

It can be instructive to listen to what someone with different political positions than yourself has to say. And there is the First Amendment. So the Rutgers oppositionists should just take a chill pill. Good post, Joeh.

Let her speak indeed. Though she is unlikely to reveal why she let the Vice President cow and bulldoze her into failing to tell Bush II what the consequences of the "war of choice" were likely to be. At least General Powell, another bright and honest black, realized he had made a mistake and owned up to it....

I would be interested in hearing from any intelligent black woman reader of any political persuasion as to whether TB's comment that Condi Rice must have been bullied or cow-towed by a powerful white man as the only explanation for her position at the time is racist in nature. No I don't believe that TB is racist, but to me the comment smacks of racist assumptions.

My understanding of this is limited, but I've read that the board making these selections for commencement speakers broke their own rules by not allowing feedback or even suggestions for a commencement speaker this year. As a liberal it frustrates me that I can't champion Condoleezza Rice but I do think she was a questionable choice for a commencement speech. If they wanted to invite her to a political forum to share her views, that would be more fitting.

I have a certain fondness for Condoleezza Rice. She seems to be a no-bullshit kind of gal. I wanted to call her Condi, but that makes it seem like we're BFFs. I had no idea she was a figure skater and a pianist. But she always did appear a bit more intelligent than GWB.

If they believe she is a fool, they should let her speak and prove she is a fool. But I think she approves their opinions wrong. Besides, colleges are suppose to be places of different opinions. It seems at collages to day you must think just one way and if you disagree, you are stupid, racist, and over horrible person. Condoleezza Rice worked hard to be where she is. She is a free thinking woman.

If she ever did run for national office, she would be a the top of my list.

I was just reading about Condoleezza Rice in Parade magazine - her campaign with 2 other highly intelligent women who are raising awareness about the negative connotation of the word "bossy" when referring to females in leadership positions.

Regardless of her politics, I like her; always have. I consider myself non-partisan - there were things that I agreed with when she held office and others that I didn't. Her speaking at Rutgers should not be an issue for all the facts that you mentioned in this post. She is exceptionally intelligent and also personable. I read her memoir and would recommend it to any young person who is worried about his or her career. Condi Rice took a while to channel her smarts.

As for her role in the Iraq war - I tend to be one who does not beat a dead horse. Knowledge from the past is necessary to prevent future mistakes, but we need to move on and deal to our current situations. I can't see this post as I type, but I think you said that history will determine ones legacy and I agree.

And lastly, the commenter who saw her as weak and negated her authority and position - that does not surprise me. With two boxes checked in the tokenism column (female and black), many people automatically or subliminally "go there." For that reason, I'm not quick to cry racist or sexist.

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I am 70 years old, I have 4 children 45,42,40 and 18;and 5 grandchildren 13-6
. Divorced twice, married three times. I worked on Wall Street for 40 years after graduating from Lafayette College in 1968. I have turned to writing as since retirement I needed something to tell people "What the F*** I do." Published one book "Maybe It's Just Me!" available at Amazon, soon to release my second, "I Used To Be Stupid."
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